Are your floors rising against you and creating uneven surfaces with lumps and bumps? If so, then they might be buckling. Buckling wood floors create numerous concerns, from tripping hazards to unappealing appearances. Whether you are trying to sell your house or maintain it, morphed floors dampen the mood and call for immediate action. Here are some tips for fixing buckling of engineered floors.
Remove Molding
One of the main culprits of buckling is improper installation. Like any wood, engineered planks inevitably absorb their surrounding moisture and swell in certain temperatures, causing them to expand. Before you install floor planks, they need to acclimate at least 48 hours prior. Acclimating the wood allows them to react and get used to their new atmosphere, giving them room to expand to a plateau size in accordance with their surroundings. Floors installed without a set acclimating session expand while in place, causing the planks to push up against one another and buckle. Removing the molding of your walls gives your floors breathing room, adding extra space for them to spread out.
Replace Spacers
Along with acclimating the planks, expansion gaps and spacers take into account potential future wood expansion during the installation process. Lack of spacers or expansion gaps increases one’s chances of buckled floors. Depending on the severity of buckling, you can replace your spacers with a smaller version. Doing so creates another safety expansion gap while still giving your floors a bit more space than before. Like removing the molding from your walls, eliminating your floor’s spacers gives your wood planks additional room.
Dry Excess Moisture
Moisture is the bane of all wood floors. Although engineered wood features higher water and moisture resistance than solid wood, engineered planks are still susceptible to their effects due to the general composition of wood. In contrast to swelling soaked wood, dried planks retract in size. Drying out the excess moisture from your flooring can decrease some of the inflammation and incentivizes the wood to retract. You can also run a fan on the planks for 24 hours or use a dehumidifier to further draw out excess moisture.
Aside from these tips for fixing buckling of engineered floors, the only other solution is to remove and replace the planks. Thankfully, most of the time, you only need to replace the buckled sections rather than stripping your entire foundation. However, you can also take the opportunity to upgrade or try new floorings. From the Forest offers a range of options to explore, from maple and oak wood planks to grey engineered wood flooring. With a new set of floors and buckling out of the way, you can continue enjoying your home in its prime or spruce it up for a good sale price.